The Barbecue Trail

This blog entry is inspired by a conversation I recently had with someone who moved from the southern U.S. to the northwestern part of the country.  I was asking her about the restaurant scene where she now resides and the discussion turned to barbecue - or BBQ - or bar-b-que - and how BBQ restaurants are pretty scarce where she is.  Which got me to thinking about barbecue - and how it varies across the country - and whether there are some establishments I need to put on the list for our Middle States itinerary.

Of course it's hard to judge whether a restaurant will be any good just by its online presence, but there are a few places that met our general criteria when traveling.  By general criteria I mean it can't be somewhere we can eat at home!  And if it's a local place and been around a long, long time, even better.

My earliest BBQ memory is of my Finnish grandmother making BBQ ribs at their outdoor concrete-block fire pit when I was just a wee child of four.  I can still conjure up a smell-memory of the smoky flavor of her ribs.  But for the most part, I grew up eating barbecue at the family dinner table which meant my mom's brown sugar, ketchup, and yellow mustard sauce slathered over chicken or put on ground or chipped beef.  And in college, it was Sonny's BBQ on Sunday afternoons after church or for a finals' week treat.

I've watched enough Food Network programs to know that there are regional differences in what barbecue means, and I think at some point in my life I've had some of each style:  Kansas City, Carolina, Texas, and Memphis.  But of course each of these can be further categorized based on things like what sides are served or whether it's mustard or vinegar or molasses that give the sauces those delicious flavors.  What I can say confidently is that I haven't met a BBQ meal I haven't liked!  I do prefer pork over chicken, and I won't say no to a bit of brisket.

The logical place to start our Barbecue Trail is from our favorite area restaurant, Hamaknockers.  This place was featured on Guy Fieri's Man Fire Food program and has been around since 2004.  This is our go-to place when we are traveling down towards the Forgotten Coast of Florida.  We go there often enough that the server knows our order: pulled pork plate with a side of BBQ beans!

In Tuscaloosa, there's Archibald & Woodrow's BBQ which has been in business since 1962.  I was introduced to Alabama White Sauce at Mission BBQ.  It's a mayonnaise-based sauce with horseradish.  I haven't liked it on the pulled pork, but it's really good to dip your fries in.  So if we get to Archibald & Woodrow's, I want to see if it might be different having Alabama White Sauce in Alabama (where maybe they just call it sauce?).  

We're spending a night in Olive Branch, Mississippi, which is just outside of Memphis.  Several years ago, we had an extended layover at the airport in Memphis which is where we had Corky's BBQ.  While there is a Corky's in Olive Branch, there is also one in Pigeon Forge where we will be later in our trip.  But there's only one Old Style Bar-B-Q which has been in business since 1976.

It's a good thing we plan to be in Hot Springs for several days because one of them has to include a meal at McClards.  McClards has been in business since 1928 and has been featured on several television shows and even in the book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die (USA and Canada edition).

Van's Pig Stand has been around since 1930 and now they have several locations.  The original one was in Wewoka, Oklahoma, but we will have a chance to try it in Purcell.  They have an interesting write-up about their history at you can read at their website.

While looking for BBQ restaurants in Dodge City, Kansas, I came across the place I always said I was going to open... the I Don't Care Family Restaurant (and Sports Bar).  It's the perfect place when you ask your family or friends where they want to eat and they say, "I don't care."  As for BBQ, there's Billy Sims Barbecue with locations in Dodge City and West Bend, Wisconsin among other places.  Billy Sims is a former NFL football player who opened his first BBQ restaurant in 2004.

I don't know about you, but my mouth is watering for some good ol' barbecue about now, so we'll have to leave the rest of this trail for another post.  My plan is to revisit these posts along our way and report back on those places we experience first-hand.

If you have a favorite BBQ place, leave us a recommendation in the comments!

~ Cindy D.